Gary Payton scored a career-high 41 points -- all in the first
three quarters -- as the Seattle SuperSonics coasted to a 114-85
victory over the hapless Washington Wizards.

Known as "The Glove" for his defensive prowess, Payton showed
that he also has quite an offensive arsenal. In just 30
minutes, the All-Star made 14-of-21 shots, including 7-of-12
from 3-point range. He surpassed his previous career high of 38
set March 24, 1996 at Sacramento.

"I'm not worried about the points, it's just something that
happened today," said Payton, who scored just five points in
Sunday's All-Star Game. "You got to take good quality shots.
Sometimes you take bad shots but I was just in the rhythm. I was
getting some good looks."

Payton came out on fire from the start, making 6-of-7 shots in
the opening quarter, including 4-of-5 from beyond the arc to
help the Sonics open a 37-19 lead. Working primarily against
Rod Strickland, he finished with 29 points in the half as
Seattle built a commanding 64-38 advantage.

"He came out feeling it. He can shoot on any play and most plays
start with the ball in his hands," Seattle coach Paul Westphal
said. "Then if he feels like shooting, he could get a shot. If
he feels it, he's going to let it go."

Tracy Murray netted 16 points to lead Washington, which has lost
four straight games and is just 1-5 since Darrell Walker
replaced Gar Heard as coach on January 31. At 15-35, the
Wizards have the second-worst record in the Eastern Conference.

"It was a bad game from the beginning until the end," Walker
said. "It was the worst performance since I got here. The good
thing about it .. I'm glad we have a game tomorrow (at
Vancouver). There's not a learning process, we just got our
butts kicked tonight."

Payton dominated from the start, draining consecutive 3-pointers
to start the contest. He drilled two more shots from beyond the
arc sandwiched around a 3-pointer from Murray that gave the
Sonics a 22-5 bulge with 6:10 left in the first quarter.

Led by Payton, the Sonics shot a blistering 68 percent
(13-of-19) in the first quarter. Washington shot just 32 percent
(6-of-19) in the period.

The Wizards got a break from Payton, who sat out the first 5:39
of the second quarter. However, he re-entered with 6:21 left in
the half and scored seven straight points that opened a a 59-33
bulge. Payton made 10-of-13 shots in the half, including 5-of-8
from beyond the arc.

Payton surpassed his previous high for points when he buried
another 3-pointer with 1:42 left in the third quarter that
pushed the lead to 91-59. Seattle led by as many as 34 points
in the final minute of the quarter.

When asked if he would have liked to reach 50 points, Payton
said, "That's just being disrespectful to the other team. Why
should I be in the game when we're up 30 points? I mean after
the third quarter and we're up 30, I need to sit down."

"I had a great seat for that game tonight," Payton's backcourt
mate Brent Barry said. "When you see him have a night like
tonight where everything he touches turns to gold, it's a lot of
fun to watch."

While Payton had his career game, Strickland had one to forget
as he finished with seven points on 3-of-9 shooting.

"Gary was on a roll. From day one to now, he has developed his
game almost every year," Strickland said. "Right now, he's the
best out there."